Sam Burgess delighted with his progress as he scores his first Premiership try

Sam Burgess said he was delighted to "get the monkey off the back" after scoring his first senior Bath try in their 39-26 Aviva Premiership victory over Wasps

Centre Burgess touched down just after half-time as Bath moved a point behind league leaders Northampton.

It was comfortably his most effective display since he first lined up in the west country giants' first team six weeks ago, with Burgess showing some glimpses of his attacking and defensive prowess.

"It was good," he said. "I am kind of glad to get the monkey off the back.

"I was happy to get over for the try. George (Ford) found me with a great pass, and I managed to slide over.

"I am improving week to week, and enjoying a bit more time on the field. Overall, I am happy with the way things are going, and there are things to work on, as always.

"We got some clean ball today, and I got my hands on the ball, which I enjoyed.

"I am used to the pressure. I came from quite a high pressure environment in Australia, and I am learning the game week by week, but pressure is fine. I kind of knew that would be the case.

"It's pressure in a game that I don't really know as well as the one I have come from, but all the time I am confident that I will learn."

Bath boss Mike Ford believes Burgess is showing signs of becoming more comfortable in union after Bath triumphed in bonus point fashion.

"Sam played his best game and he is definitely on the right track," Ford said.

"We did some good stuff. It wasn't all correct, it wasn't all pretty, but we looked in control and I was pleased with our attacking structure throughout.

"We are still only scratching the surface with this team. It's exciting because we know we can get so much better."

Second best

Wasps rugby director Dai Young, meanwhile, had no complaints about the result.

"To be honest, it was probably a commendable last 15 minutes," he said.

"We could have rolled over and chucked the towel in, but I was really pleased with how we came back.

"We went away with a point, but I am not sure if we deserved or not, if I am quite honest. For 70 minutes, I thought we were second-best in most areas.

"They had us under pressure in the set-piece, we struggled to get any penetration with ball in hand, and we struggled to contain them when they had ball in hand.

"They were too powerful for us today in most areas. We weren't quite at the races. We didn't play anything like we can play.

"We have got to lick our wounds, go away and come back better next week.

"This league gives you a reality check very quickly. When you start thinking everything is rosy in the garden, you get your trousers pulled down."